1st Edition

A Magnificent Journey to Excellence Sixteen Years of Six Sigma at Cummins Inc.

    326 Pages 50 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    326 Pages 50 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    This book presents a model of organization transformation success. The model framework comprises a series of S-Curves (maturity curves) of planning and execution activities phased over time. The model is illustrated through description and analysis of an actual, two-decade, highly successful, global enterprise transformation Six Sigma program at a Fortune 200 company: Cummins, Inc. Lessons learned from the model and company case study are completely transferrable to other organizational culture, improvement and innovation transformation settings.

    This insightful book:

    • Documents a firsthand account of a successful transformation. The authors completely explain what was accomplished and the lessons learned from a 16-year deployment of Six Sigma at Cummins.

    • Acts as a benchmark for those organizations interested in pursuing primarily a continuous improvement transformation, and more generally for other types of transformation efforts.

    • Includes substantive interviews with ten key leaders and others who made the transformation possible.

    • Helps organizations shorten the overall transformation timelines. The documentation of a transformation provides you a model for how to think about organization transformation maturity over time and plan for it.

    • Recognizes the work of thousands of people involved in transforming a global company. The interviews provide extraordinary perspectives not only by executives who initiated and sustained the transformation program but also by program participants who themselves grew as managers and leaders in their careers through the program.

    Essentially, this book helps early-career managers and executives see the broader picture of enterprise transformation, especially over time. This helps them be better managers and executives, and importantly, helps them better plan for and hasten their upward career trajectories. Lastly, the book describes a view of possibilities. It describes a clear, sustained success, the steps taken to get there and the measurement of progress. The result provides you with confidence that successful transformation is possible and worth the effort.

    List of Figures and Tables

    List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

    Foreword – Change by Frank McDonald

    About the Authors

    Chapter 1: Introduction and Purpose

    Chapter 2: Interview with Tim Solso, Cummins CEO 2000-2011

    Chapter 3: Six Sigma Pre-History

    Chapter 4: The Bottom Line: Results

    Chapter 5: S-Curves and Kano – Maturity and Sustainability

    Chapter 6: Interview with Frank McDonald – Cummins Vice President of Quality (1999-2002)

    Chapter 7: S-Curve 1 – Pre-launch

    Chapter 8: S-Curve 2 – Launch and First Projects

    Chapter 9: Preparing for the Next S-Curve – Cross-Curve Analysis: A Summary

    Chapter 10: Interview with Joe Loughrey – Cummins President & COO (2005-2008)

    Chapter 11: Moving from First Training and Projects S-Curve to the Building a Foundation S-Curve

    Chapter 12: Interview with Michelle Dunlap – Master Black Belt, Quality Champion

    Chapter 13: Interview with Dana Vogt – Black Belt, Master Black Belt, Quality Champion

    Chapter 14: S-Curve 3 – Building a Foundation

    Chapter 15: Moving from Building a Foundation to the Self-Supporting S-Curve

    Chapter 16: Interview with Megan Henry – Black Belt, Master Black Belt, Six Sigma Leader

    Chapter 17: S-Curve 4 – Self-Supporting

    Chapter 18: Interview with Ginger Lirette – Black Belt

    Chapter 19: Moving from Self-Supporting to the Business Integration S-Curve

    Chapter 20: Interview with Tom Linebarger– Cummins CEO (2011+)

    Chapter 21: S-Curve 5 – Business Integration

    Chapter 22: Moving from Business Integration to Continued Growth and Expansion and Business System Improvement S-Curves

    Chapter 23: S-Curve 6 – Continued Growth and Expansion

    Chapter 24: Interview with Julie Liu – Black Belt, Quality Champion, Six Sigma Leader

    Chapter 25: S-Curve 7 – Business System Improvement

    Chapter 26: Interview with Holly Duarte - Black Belt

    Chapter 27: The Effect of Maturity on Organizational Communication

    Chapter 28: How to use S-Curves

    Chapter 29: Important Considerations for a Healthy Long-Term Six Sigma Deployment

    Chapter 30: Special Situations

    Chapter 31: Conclusions

    Chapter 32: Final Thoughts

    Appendices

    Index

    Biography

    George K. Strodtbeck III, Mohan V. Tatikonda PhD